Occupy gets OK to stay for now

City to give Albany protesters 15-day permit to stay in park

The Occupy Albany encampment has been cleaned up and a number of tents taken down, seen here on Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2011 in Albany, NY. (Paul Buckowski / Times Union)

Paul Buckowski2of6Occupy Albany member, Hezzie Johanson speaks with the media following a meeting at Albany City Hall on Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2011 in Albany, NY. Representatives with Occupy Albany met with city officials to work through the permit process for the Occupy Albany encampment. (Paul Buckowski / Times Union)Paul Buckowski3of6Mark Mishler, a lawyer for Occupy Albany, makes his way to a meeting at Albany City Hall on Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2011 in Albany, NY. Representatives with Occupy Albany met with city officials to work through the permit process for the Occupy Albany encampment. (Paul Buckowski / Times Union)Paul Buckowski4of6Occupy Albany members make their way through their encampment in Academy Park on Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2011 in Albany, NY. (Paul Buckowski / Times Union)Paul Buckowski5of6Occupy Albany member, Hezzie Johanson, background center, surrounded by her fellow occupy members, speaks with the media following a meeting at Albany City Hall on Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2011 in Albany, NY. Representatives with Occupy Albany met with city officials to work through the permit process for the Occupy Albany encampment. (Paul Buckowski / Times Union)Paul Buckowski6of6A sign is posted at the Occupy Albany encampment seen here on Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2011 in Albany, NY. (Paul Buckowski / Times Union)Paul Buckowski

ALBANY — Occupy Albany has a home in Academy Park for at least the next 15 days.

After a weekend-long cleanup and consolidation of their makeshift municipality and two meetings with city officials, the protesters learned Wednesday morning that they will be issued a permit allowing them to maintain a 24-hour presence in the city-owned park between City Hall and the Capitol until Dec. 22.

The city had given Occupy Albany until Tuesday to correct 15 code violations found at the then 80-tent encampment during a surprise inspection Friday. Though three minor violations were found when code inspectors combed throughout the site Tuesday, Occupy Albany members promised Wednesday to amend those problems quickly. The permit was issued hours after the group's 10:30 a.m. meeting with city officials.

The demonstrators maintain the permit, which required them to downsize their site, is not a concession but a means of biding time as the group plots its next move. "It was something the city asked us to do and we thought it was in our best interest to maintain with them the good relationship we've established with them," said Hezzie Johanson, a member of Occupy Albany's public relation arm who was part of Wednesday's meeting with the city.

The agreement is the latest chapter in a cordial coexistence between the city and the demonstrators that has played out since the protest began Oct. 21. While other cities have commanded police to remove protesters from Occupy sites across the country, sparking clashes between cops and demonstrators marked by explosive images of protesters on the receiving end of cans of pepper spray and batons.

But the lengthy detente between the two sides in Albany now seems as though it may have an end date of Dec. 22. Occupy Albany remains adamant it needs to maintain a 24-hour presence in the park, and the city, fearing health risks that come from camping all night in the bitter cold, maintains it will not let protesters slumber on its land come winter.

"We all agree we're not on the same page," said Mark Mishler, a lawyer for Occupy Albany who has sat in on the group's meetings with the city. "Our expectation is that people will be staying in Academy Park past Dec. 22."

City officials would not speculate Wednesday on what would happen if protesters still had their tents staked in the park come the first day of winter, but Mishler said the city has indicated it has no intention of forcibly removing the demonstrators.

"It's hard to imagine any municipal official looking at Oakland, Philadelphia, or Los Angeles and thinking that makes any sense at all," Mishler said, referring to cities that have seen efforts by police to remove protesters turn turbulent. "How can you look at that and think that makes sense? My impression is the city is looking at those things and they know it's wrong, dangerous, and completely unnecessary."

Assistant Corporation Counsel Jeffery Jamison, who also serves as the city's director of building and codes, suggested any dispute over Occupy Albany's right to stay in the park 24 hours a day after Dec. 22 — the group will be free to protest on city land during the day — may end up in court. "That option is always there for either party," he said.

With the backing of Albany County District Attorney David Soares, the protesters were successful in their first round of court appearances last month. That's when Soares' office, against the desire of Gov. Andrew Cuomo, moved to dismiss all charges of trespassing and disorderly conduct against more than 100 protesters arrested over eight nights by State Police for crossing into the adjacent state-owned Lafayette Park after its 11 p.m. curfew.

Mishler said that peaceful cooperation between both sides is a direct result of factors that brought Soares and Albany Police Chief Steve Krokoff into office. Soares was ushered into office in 2004 thanks in part to a tremendous amount of grassroots support; Krokoff was chosen as chief with the backing of the Albany Common Council.

"With past administrations, I do not think things may have played out for us the way they did," Mishler said. "There's a certain level of commitment to the community from (Soares and Krokoff) that is making the success of Occupy Albany unique."

Occupy Albany members, however, maintain their movement will not be as effective if they do not have a 24-hour presence. The group said they and Occupy movements around the state had a direct influence on a bipartisan tax plan unveiled Tuesday that cuts taxes for those earning between $40,000 and $300,000. "We would like to take a lot of credit for that," said Johanson.

At the behest of the city, the protesters scaled down their encampment to meet the permit requirements. Among other regulations of the permit, Occupy Albany is now limited to 30 tents, cannot have open flames or cooking equipment and is limited to two heaters and one generator that must be attended to at all times, though the encampment had none of the latter items at the park Wednesday afternoon.